[log] Lean on me [closed]

[zunesareawesome]

Characters: The Sorcerer Not-Yet-Supreme, Star-Cat, Star-Lord, and the Librarian
Location: Building 318 and various
Date: Day 339-343
Summary: The visiting of Flynn Carsen to the clan of Snow.
Warnings: References to character death, drowning, blood (because this is a scary building), more CW's in ensuing threads.




318: The stench of blood is thick in this garage, with blood long-soaked into the concrete floor, staining nearly the entire expanse. There are empty wooden tables to be sat on if you would rather not sit on the floor, though they've all been flipped as if in anger. One of the tables has been broken into pieces and burned, and another has pieces missing as if someone had begun to break it into pieces but was interrupted. The whole place has a hostile air to it, and the walls sound like they're breathing at night. "ALPHONSE ELRIC, DAY TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY TWO, CONTACT @LELRIC FOR ANY ASSISTANCE." "ALPHONSE ELRIC, DAY TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY SIX, PLEASE CALL @LELRIC FOR ANY ASSISTANCE NEEDED." and "ALPHONSE ELRIC, DAY TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY EIGHT, FOR ANY ASSISTANCE PLEASE CONTACT @LELRIC ANY TIME." are written on one of the walls.

Comments

cw self-harm, torture, blood, character death

[cahooted]

"I'm sorry. I--" Flynn presses a knuckle to his face, closing his eyes when he takes that. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about that, I shouldn't have-- I know that's very personal and painful and--"

Where was he going with this?

"It is."

Peter may be hurting but so is Flynn and he misses Earth and he misses everything Earth stands for and the Library and Judson and Charlene and Cal and pledging his life to keep Earth safe. "It really-- it really is. And when I give you the grand tour you'll see it."

The real Peter will see it.

cw self-harm, torture, blood, character death

[zunesareawesome]

[Peter can't answer a moment, he can't talk, the burning is too much and what he just said is too much and the blood dripping into Thermos cup makes it all seem just that much worse, and what is he even doing here, why is he doing this--the gasp of pain mixes with another stifled sob and he's trying to keep it together.

Finally, he takes a few deep breaths, unsure if he was about to run or yell or cry--a swallow, and a cough to clear his throat. His voice still sounds extremely raw.]

...I don't really want to talk about it anymore.

[He trails off quietly. He means both the previous topic and the grand earth tour.]

cw self-harm, torture, blood, character death

[cahooted]

Okay.

[Flynn stares at his hands. How can he feel so accomplished and awful at the same time? His face is burning, he doesn't know why.]

I'm sorry. I know it hurts. I'll... make it up to you, I'll figure this out and everything will be better.

cw self-harm, torture, blood, character death

[zunesareawesome]

Um...sure.

[Peter feels like he's been wrung out, like something in him's been chewed up, bit by bit, taken and torn away. He shouldn't have said all these things. But it was for the greater good, right? If it helped Flynn figure this out. He takes a few deep breaths, a little shaky from the intense, re-occurring pain, and the sharp ache in his arm and the blood that's filling up the Thermos cup.]

...how far are you on figuring this out?

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[cahooted]

I'm, uh. Pretty far ahead in the figuring out process.

[Really. Promise.]

I just have to... piece it all together. You know? Like a puzzle? I'm good at puzzles.

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[zunesareawesome]

Good.

[He sounds relieved. This hurts a lot, but it's going to be worth it. If anyone could figure this out, it's Flynn.]

I wasn't that great at puzzles when I was a kid. I mean, the jigsaw puzzle kind. I finished like, one, but most of the time I lost all the pieces. Or ate one. They're really small and sometimes the colors looked tasty? [If that made sense. It made sense to tiny Peter, who assumed a bright orange puzzle piece would taste like an orange.

It did not.]

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[cahooted]

You... ate the puzzle pieces?

[How.]

Wait, didn't you say the same thing about your action figures? Is there anything you didn't eat as a child?

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[zunesareawesome]

Um, yeah?

[A pause.]

I wasn't a big fan of broccoli. So...broccoli.

[At least the burning wasn't so bad this time.]

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[cahooted]

What, are you kidding?

[He looks up from what he's doing -- what is he doing? -- his eyebrows shooting up.]

Excuse me, but broccoli is amazing.

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[zunesareawesome]

Broccoli is pure evil in plant form and there is no way you can convince me otherwise.

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[cahooted]

Broccoli cooked and then roasted in a pan with garlic and breading is a tasty treat of green goodness.

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[zunesareawesome]

That sounds awful. Blech.

A tasty treat? Dude. The only treats that count are ones covered in chocolate, filled with peanut butter, or 99% sugar.

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[cahooted]

While I will probably always prefer treats covered in chocolate and filled with peanut butter and/or 99% sugar, your opinion on broccoli is 100% uninformed and wrong.

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[zunesareawesome]

Wrong? Wrong? [Uninformed, okay, he can get over that. But not wrong.]

Your opinion on broccoli is weird and unusual. Seriously! Who even ever likes brocolli with all its weird little leaves and it's unnecessarily crunchy stalk like it's some kind of mini-tree. You know, a tree is part of my family!

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[cahooted]

[Well, Peter, if you don't want people to tell you you're wrong stop being wrong.]

Wh-- My opinion isn't weird?! A lot of people like broccoli! It is a very well-liked and versatile vegetable! And I'm not telling you to eat your family tree!

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[zunesareawesome]

[W o w, b r o.]

It is so weird! That's a bold-faced lie. False. And yeah, you kinda are.

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[cahooted]

What? How am I-- a vegetable has nothing to do with your friends! Are you calling your friend a broccoli? Because that's kind of mean if you don't even like it!

Oh, wait, what, so now you're calling me a liar?

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[zunesareawesome]

Groot is literally a walking talking tree, so yeah, he's probably related to broccoli!

Everybody lies to win arguments, it's not a big deal!

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[cahooted]

Broccoli is part of the Brassica oleracea family, and a biennial flowering plant that completes its biological life cycle in two years! It has nothing to do with trees!

And if you have actual facts you don't need to lie! Fact: Broccoli has been considered a uniquely valuable food since the Roman Empire!

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[zunesareawesome]

It looks like a tree! Therefore, it's a tree!

Oh yeah? Fact: A uniquely valuable food to torture prisoners with and make them talk!

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[cahooted]

That-- that is not how botany works!

And nobody in the history of torture has ever been made talk with broccoli!

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[zunesareawesome]

Botany-shmotany! That's a stupid-sounding word anyway.

You don't know that! It's a big universe! I'm sure someone did!

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[cahooted]

[You did not just.]

It's not. It's a revered academic field with centuries of tradition!

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[zunesareawesome]

[He totes just did just.]

Tradition!? What kind of tradition does a revered academic field even have? You guys wear broccoli hats!?

cw self-harm, torture, blood

[cahooted]

[Flynn bristles because okay, now he's starting to take this a bit personally.]

Yes, tradition. It's one of the oldest branches of science and botanical gardens attached to universities started as early as the 1540s! And we do not wear broccoli hats!